.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Fauteuils with boldly-carved griffins were executed from circa 1790 by Jean-Bapstiste Sené and Georges Jacob, and both chair-makers collaborated on the commission for similar chairs for the Convention Nationale. A design by Charles Percier for a related chair is illustrated in D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Mobilier Français du XIXe Siècle, Paris, 1984, p. 283 and a profile design for a similar chair attributed to Jacob is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (inv. CD 3989).
Percier and Fontaine's 'Receuil de Décorations Intérieurs' (1801) included various other more detailed designs for chairs with griffins, and these were disseminiated throughout Europe. Architects and designers active in St. Petersburg obviously also had access to these designs and various projects by Andrei Voronikhin (1759-1814) are clearly indebted to them, such as his work at Pavlovsk in 1803-'04. Indeed, the fauteuils in the Greek Hall have parcel-gilt and green-painted 'griffin' uprights which are similar to those of the present fauteuils (E. Ducamp, Pavlovsk, Paris, 1993, p. 111)
A pair of identical armchairs sold Ariane Dandois, Sotheby's New York, 25/26 October 2007, lot 421.
Percier and Fontaine's 'Receuil de Décorations Intérieurs' (1801) included various other more detailed designs for chairs with griffins, and these were disseminiated throughout Europe. Architects and designers active in St. Petersburg obviously also had access to these designs and various projects by Andrei Voronikhin (1759-1814) are clearly indebted to them, such as his work at Pavlovsk in 1803-'04. Indeed, the fauteuils in the Greek Hall have parcel-gilt and green-painted 'griffin' uprights which are similar to those of the present fauteuils (E. Ducamp, Pavlovsk, Paris, 1993, p. 111)
A pair of identical armchairs sold Ariane Dandois, Sotheby's New York, 25/26 October 2007, lot 421.